St. Mary Magdalene Church

http://www.themadeleine.edu/church_new/welcome.html


This is another church with a nickname. In this case, it goes by the name of The Madeleine. Madeleine, my online sources tell me, means "woman from Magdala."

The first thing that struck me about the church is how nicely everyone was dressed. Many men had suits or sport coats and many women were wearing tasteful, dark dresses. The dress code in Catholic churches has become decidedly informal and in this respect the Madeleine is a throwback. Also, stuck between the Irvington, Alameda and Beaumont neighborhoods, this is not a poor parish.

The second thing I noticed was the large wooden carving and crucifix behind the alter. It is an impressive piece of work.

Having slept until almost 9:30 am I made it to the 11 am Mass. By all indications this is a lively, healthy parish, but the worshippers this morning were pretty scarce. The bulletin is thick as a small town telephone book and we had no less than three people address us at the end of Mass about their organizations. So, I am left thinking that because there is a school adjoining this church (The Madeleine School), many or most of the parishioners have children at the school and come to the 9:15 am Mass. In any case, there was plenty of pew space.

Father Mike Biewend, with his completely bald pate and energetic delivery, asked everyone to introduce themselves to their neighbors. I did so and was greeted by a blond woman about my age and a good looking family of three children all less than nine years. We shook hands and exchanged names. Later, before the kiss of peace, Father Mike asked us to bow or touch the shoulder of the other rather than shake hands so as to avoid spreading germs. (H1N1 precautions, you know.) Since we had already shaken hands at the beginning of Mass, I thought that train had left the station and even had the bad manners to say as much during the kiss of peace ceremony.

After meeting my neighbors, Father Mike asked who was a visitor, then he asked a little about the visitors. At my turn I mentioned that I was on my pilgrimage to visit all the Catholic churches in Portland and this was my fifth. He seemed a little worried he might get an unfavorable review and jokingly told the others to grab my camera.

Today was Priesthood Sunday, a new day in the Catholic calendar meant to recognize priests. For his homily, Father Mike gave us a "day in the life" vignette of his busy yesterday. He mentioned he started the day with a run at 4:30 am. What is it about these early risers that they always have to let you know just how early they rise? I am sadly deficient in this area and was not sure I enjoyed being reminded that I'd only been awake a bit more than an hour and that the day was almost half gone. Are there any famous and successful late risers in this world that aren't rock musicians? Please tell me that there are.

The best part of his Saturday was visiting an elderly woman with lung cancer and hearing that her first concern was her 21 year-old son not being alienated from his father, who had left them both when she was 59. It was a touching story. But I could not get past how busy his day was and how many things and people were pressing for his attention that day. Now I felt bad and selfish for how relatively empty my Saturdays (and even many workdays) are.

Afterward a couple of parishioners wished me well. One asked if her church was going to get a good grade or something like that. I assured her that my purpose was not to rank the churches but to simply experience and enjoy them. The other parishioner told me to come back if I got around to going to each church a second time.